Israel’s ‘allies’ should reckon with reality

Everyone wants an end to the fighting in Gaza. The United States backs ‘an immediate and sustained ceasefire’. The European Commission urges ‘an agreement on a ceasefire rapidly’. The Brits demand ‘an immediate pause in fighting, then progress towards a sustainable ceasefire’. So eager is the Biden regime for a cessation in hostilities that the most senior Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, was sent out last week to advocate the removal of Israel’s democratically elected prime minister. The urgency is understandable. The Gaza death toll is, according to Hamas, just under 32,000. An NGO says starvation is ‘imminent’ in the northern parts of the enclave. Israel has launched a fresh operation against Hamas stronghold al-Shifa hospital and is planning an incursion into Rafah, which is likely to see casualty numbers rise considerably. 

On the face of it, there is no obvious way forward. Israel intends to continue fighting until it has a) freed its hostages or their bodies and b) sufficiently incapacitated Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad to delay a repeat of 7 October in the near future.